Federal consent decrees and civilian oversight are often held up as strong tools to get misbehaving police departments to right ship. But Albuquerque’s experience shows the agreements can be toothless and fragile.

The International Business Times is reporting that Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration might have violated U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules by steering “at least $757 million to eight financial firms while donors linked to those firms have collectively given more than $1.2 million to Martinez and political groups supporting her.”